Quincy The Little Deafie Who Could

Written by Cathy Artis

Quincy is the deaf Sheltie in my family who has no idea he “can’t” do anything my other Shelties do.  I have trained and shown Shelties for over thirty years, but he is my first deafie.  We picked up that he was deaf when he was around three to four weeks old.   But it was too late for I was already in love with the white fluff ball.  He is a color headed white (not a double merle).

Quincy with his mama Cathy

It was hard at first not to want to be over protective.  But to put it into perspective, he doesn’t know he cannot hear.  He fits right in with my other Shelties and thinks the world is a party for him.

Quincy rockin the weave poles

Quincy competes in Agility, Obedience, Rally, and even has his first qualifying score in Freestyle Dance.  He is a Therapy Dog (TDI) and a Reading With Rover dog (PALS) and has his Herding Instinct Certification.  He has achieved several HIT’s and a HC in the various sports.  He does all this by sign language / facial expression / and body language.

Quincy competing in Agility

Quincy was one of the main “poster dogs” in our presentation to the AKC to finally convince the AKC to allow deafies compete, as of November, 2015.

Quincy competing in a Rally course

 

In 2017 he suffered a major spinal cord injury that threatened to end his ring career and severely limit his personal life.  A year of intensive rehab
with some dedicated specialists has him independent, happy, and back in the ring again.  Life is good!

U-CD, UROC, UACHX Homespun Quinlan’s Crystal Blue Snow RL2, HIC, TDI, DPP, RE, CGCA, CL4-R, CL4-H, CL3-F, TKN, TKI, TKA